About Me

I believed that stuff we were taught in high school back in the days before "Social Studies" supplanted history, geography and civics.
I really don't want to talk only about political things. I really want merely to be left alone to follow my own way.

Log

Friday, July 17, 2015

The little Red Hen

Once upon a time, an
Italian mouse, a Spanish cat, a Greek pig, and a little red German Langshan hen
lived on an old farm on a flowery hill surrounded by fields of golden wheat.
One day, the Little Red Hen found some grains of wheat scattered in the
barnyard. "Look, look at what I've found!" she said to the other
animals. "Who would like a hot fresh loaf of bread?”

“Oh, I would!” said the mouse.“Oh, I would!” said el
Gato.

“Oh, I would!” said
the pig.

And then, they all
laid down to take a short siesta only to be awokened by the little red hen who
was still very excited about the thought of a hot baked fresh loaf of bread.

“Great!” said the
Little Red Hen "Who will help me plant these grains of wheat?"

"Oh no, Not
I!" said the mouse, "this is a Saint’s day, Saint Irving, I can’t
work on a Saint’s day".

"Oh no, Not I!"
said the cat, "Mayor Vitoria in Valencia has declared 2 to 5
p.m. as the official time for the city’s residents to take their afternoon
siestas".

"Fine, then I'll
do it myself," said the Little Red Hen. And so she did. She dug some holes
and carefully planted each seed. She also placed a wooden stake in the ground
with a picture of a loaf of bread attached to each one. The Little Red Hen also
knew that the seeds would need water to grow tall and strong and once again ran
to the barn yard and asked for help. "Who will help me water these
seeds?" asked the Little Red Hen.

"Not I!" said
the mouse, "Today is the Feist of Saint Shirley of Padua".

"Not I!" said
the cat, "Manaña".

"Not I!"
said the pig, "the seeds don't need water, besides, it isn’t
environmentally responsible. Global warming or cooling or whatever it is this
time. You can't deny that!"

"Then I'll do it
myself," said the Little Red Hen. And so she did. The Little Red Hen
watered the soil and waited patiently for the wheat to grow. When the wheat was
tall and golden, she knew it was ready to be cut. "Who will help me
harvest the wheat?" asked the Little Red Hen.

"Not I!"
said the mouse, "the drivers are on strike and I have to observe their
protest".

"Not I!"
said the cat, " who simply rolled over and went back to his siesta"."Not I!"
said the pig, “please pass me another Ouzo”.

"Then I'll do it
myself," said the Little Red Hen. And so she did. The Little Red Hen's
basket was soon filled with wheat. "Who will help me take the wheat to the
mill to be ground into flour?" asked the Little Red Hen.

"Not I!"
said the mouse, "I put all my money in the collection plate at Mass".

"Not I!"
said the cat, "You are just too bossy".At this point, The
Little Red Hen couldn't even find the pig to ask him.

"Alrighty then,
I'll do it myself," said the Little Red Hen. And so she did. The kind
miller had seen all the work she had done so far and gladly ground the wheat
into powdery, velvety flour, and didn't even charge her. The Little Red Hen
thanked the miller and then carried it home in a rough brown sack. "Who
will help me make this flour into bread?" timidly asked the Little Red
Hen.

"Not I!"
said the mouse, "I must go to the parade honoring the feast of the Immaculate
Contraption ".

"Not I!" said
the cat, "Es muy caliente".

"Not I!"
said the pig, "the banker will probably bring me some more food, he has
plenty, I'll just wait".

"Then I'll do it
myself," said the Little Red Hen. And so she did. The Little Red Hen mixed
the flour into sticky dough and kneaded it into a smooth loaf. "Who will
help me chop some wood, start a fire, and put this bread into the oven to
bake?" asked the Little Red Hen.

This time, not the
mouse, not the cat, nor the pig even responded. The Little Red Hen saw them
huddled together on the other side of the barn yard laughing and pointing in
her direction. She thought that yes, maybe they were right. Maybe this whole idea
was a bad idea. Perhaps, she should just forget about making a loaf of bread
and just go join them and laugh at her idea too.

But, she didn't.

"Then I'll do it
myself," said the Little Red Hen. And so she did. Soon the kitchen was
filled with the delicious scent of baking bread and the smell drifted across
the barn yard. The other animals came to see what was happening and watched as The
Little Red Hen took the warm, crusty loaf out of the oven, and set it on the
table. She saw the mouse, the cat, and the pig with eyes wide open staring in
through the window. "Who will help me eat this fresh, tasty bread?"
asked the Little Red Hen.

"I will!"
said the mouse as he jumped through the window and sat down at the table.

"I will!"
said the cat as she jumped through the window and sat down at the table.

"I will!"
said the pig as he jumped through the window and sat down at the table.

"Oh no you will
NOT!," said the Little Red Hen. "You didn't help me plant it, or
water it, or harvest it, or mill it, or bake it. I have invited the miller to
come over and help me eat it" And so she and the miller did just that.

At this point. the pig threw a tantrum and stomped around the barnyard destroying things and overturning the farmer's car.

But here is where the
story turns to Fiction

The very next time the
Little Red Hen found some grains of wheat, she didn't even have to ask for
help. The mouse planted it in the rich, brown soil, the cat watered it
carefully every day, and the pig harvested the wheat when it had grown tall and
strong. When the dough was baked, together the animals sat down and ate the
fresh, warm bread. It was delicious! While they were eating the bread, the
other animals listened intently to The Little Red Hen's new idea and looked
carefully at her plan. Later that day, they all visited the miller who also
became excited about selling their wonderful loaves of bread.

The truth is that next time they did the very same thing but used the power of the press to make the starvation the fault of the little red state hen.